Trump impeachment trial: Previously unseen Capitol footage to show ‘how close mob came to senators’

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House impeachment managers were preparing to unveil previously unseen footage from the Capitol riots on Wednesday, according to reports, which would allegedly show just how close the deadly pro-Trump mob got to some lawmakers during the violent attacks. 

Videos recorded during Capitol riot, as Congress convened to certify the 2020 election results, have played a significant role in former President Donald Trump’s second Senate impeachment trial. 

The videos, many of them posted to social media by the former president’s extremist supporters, showed rioters attacking police officers and breaching security measures in an effort to stop Congress from certifying Mr Trump's defeat to President Joe Biden. 

Read more: Follow live updates and analysis on Donald Trump's second impeachment trial

It was not immediately clear whether the footage expected to be shown during the trial on Tuesday was recorded by the mob or congressional staff and lawmakers, many of whom were locked away and hiding in offices throughout the building while rioters slammed on doors and broke through windows. 

CNN reported on the unseen footage before lawmakers convened on Wednesday for a second day of hearings into whether the former president should face conviction for his conduct leading up to and during the riots, which left at least five people dead, including United States Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. The House voted last month to impeach Mr Trump for fomenting the deadly insurrection, the first time in history a president has been impeached twice. 

PBS’ Yamiche Alcindor also confirmed the news in a tweet, writing: “ The *new* evidence being shown by Democratic House Impeachment Managers today is previously unseen security camera footage shot from inside the Capitol.”

She added: “A Dem source says that the video will show ‘just how close Trump's mob came to senators, members of Congress and staff.’”

Videos of the riots have not only been used to aid Democratic impeachment managers in their case against the former president, but also in probes against the suspected insurrectionists nationwide. 

The FBI previously reported receiving more than 100,000 pieces of digital evidence submitted across the country that the agency has used to identify and arrest those seen on video breaking into the Capitol. 

Thousands of National Guard troops have remained in Washington ahead of the impeachment trial following the riot, keeping Capitol Hill virtually fortified throughout the inauguration ceremonies and into the month of February. Lawmakers have said they plan to remove the additional security measures when it has been deemed safe by USCP and other agencies.